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Wednesday, 1 March 2017

455) Ladybird Beetle: A set of four Commemorative stamps brought out by India Post on 23.02.2017:

455)
Ladybird Beetle: A set of four Commemorative stamps brought out by India Post
on 23.02.2017:

About
Ladybird Beetles:

Beetles are a group of
insects that form the Order Coleoptera.

The word Coleoptera is of Greek origin, which
means “sheathed wing”, because most beetles have two pairs of wings, the front
pair, being hardened and thickened into a shell-like protection for the rear
pair and the beetle’s abdomen. These hard forewings serve as a protective
shield for the fragile flying wings, which are folded underneath. The Order
contains more species than any other Order, constituting almost 25% of all
known animal life-forms.

Coccinellidae
or ladybird is a widespread family of small beetles. The name coccinellids is derived from the Latin
word coccineus meaning “scarlet”.

Origins
of the name Ladybird beetle:

The name “ladybird” seems
to have originated in Britain where the insects became known as “our Lady’s
bird” or the “Lady beetle”. Entomologists widely prefer the names ladybird
beetles or lady beetles, as these insects are not classified as true bugs.

Description
of Ladybird beetles & colouration:

They are commonly yellow,
orange or red with small black spots on their wing covers, with black legs,
heads and antennae.

However, such colour
patterns vary greatly.

Most coccinellids have oval, dome-shaped bodies with six short legs.
Depending on the species, they can have spots, stripes or no markings at all.
Seven-spotted coccinellids are red or orange with three spots on each side and
one in the middle. They have a black head with white patches on each side.
Ladybird beetles are mostly under ¼ inch (or 6 mm) long and are nearly
hemispherical in shape, with very short legs.

The underlying pattern and
colouration are determined by the species and genetics of the beetle, and
develop as the insect matures. In some species its appearance is fixed by the
time it emerges from its pupa, though in most it may take some days for the
colour of the adult beetle to mature and stabilise. Generally, the mature
adult’s colour tends to be fuller and darker than the colour of the juveniles.

Reproduction:

It only takes about four
weeks for the ladybird beetle to transform from a tiny egg to an adult. Some
females can lay up to 1,000 eggs in one summer. The ladybird beetle may lay her
eggs near an aphid colony or on plants where the larvae will have a ready
supply of food when they hatch.

Beetles are endopterygotes, which means that before
emerging as winged adults, they undergo complete metamorphosis, a biological
process by which an animal physically develops after birth or hatching,
undergoing a series of conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in their body
structure. The larval life stages of beetles are very diverse in appearance,
but generally are elongate with three pairs of jointed legs at the front of the
body. They are told apart from caterpillars by the lack of claspers on the hind
segments of the body.

Protection
against predators:

They have a bitter taste
and their bright colouration is thought to serve as a warning to predators.

Friends
of farmers and gardeners:

The majority of coccinellids species are generally
considered useful insects, because many species prey on herbivorous homopterans such as aphids or scale
insects, which are agricultural pests. Nearly all ladybird beetles – both
larvae and adults – are predators on destructive, plant-eating insects.

The adults gather in large
numbers in the fall, prior to winter hibernation and are often collected at
that time by farmers for use in pest control, as aphids are a major problem for
farmers and gardeners. The ladybird beetle is considered to be a “friend” of
the farmer and a great help in destroying pests and protecting the crops and
garden plants.

A
set of four Commemorative stamps on Ladybird beetles brought out by India Post
on 23.02.2017:

The First Day Cover (FDC) issued
on the occasion of release of the stamps shows on the left side, a stylised
representation of a Ladybird beetle about to alight on a flower for sipping
nectar.

On the top right are the
four stamps two each of 500 Paise or Rs.5/- and two each of 1500 Paise or
Rs.15/- . The Cancellation Hand-stamp is of New Delhi GPO & the
Cancellation date is “23.02.2017”.

On the top left is the
logo of the “Swachh Bharat Mission (“Clean India Mission”) with the slogan “Ek
Kadam Swachhta Ki Ore” (meaning “A step towards Cleanliness”)

A Miniature sheet of
stamps showing stylised flowers under an open blue sky and the four stamps two
each of 500 Paise or Rs.5/- and two each of 1500 Paise or Rs.15/- showing different colourations of Ladybird beetles

A stamp of 500 Paise or
Rs.5/- depicting a red coloured Ladybird beetle with black spots

A stamp of 500 Paise or
Rs.5/- depicting a multi-coloured Ladybird beetle with black spots

A stamp of 1500 Paise or
Rs.15/- depicting a yellow coloured Ladybird beetle with black spots

A stamp of 1500 Paise or
Rs.15/- depicting a red coloured Ladybird beetle with black spots

Posted on 08.03.2017:I have yesterday received the "Ladybird Beetle Pack" from the epostoffice, New Delhi which is rather attractive and elegant:

The cover of the Ladybird Beetle Pack album shows several variously coloured Beetles

A Souvenir Sheet of 16 stamps containing all the four stamps released, but with the four 1500 Paise or Rs.15/- stamp of the red coloured beetle with black spots right in the centre

A
Souvenir Sheet of 16 stamps containing all the four stamps released, but
with the four 1500 Paise or Rs.15/- stamp of the yellow coloured beetle
with black spots right in the centre

A
Souvenir Sheet of 16 stamps containing all the four stamps released, but
with the four 500 Paise or Rs.5/- stamp of the red coloured beetle
with black spots, facing left, in the centre

A
Souvenir Sheet of 16 stamps containing all the four stamps released, but
with the four 500 Paise or Rs.5/- stamp of the red coloured beetle
with black spots, facing right in the centre

The First Day Cover (FDC) issued
on the occasion of release of the stamps shows on the left side, a stylised
representation of a Ladybird beetle about to alight on a flower for sipping
nectar.

On the top right is the Miniature Sheet of the
four stamps two each of 500 Paise or Rs.5/- and two each of 1500 Paise or
Rs.15/- . The two Cancellation Hand-stamps areof New Delhi GPO & the
Cancellation date is “23.02.2017”. On the bottom, the miniature Sheet reads "Ladybird Beetle".

On the top left is the
logo of the “Swachh Bharat Mission (“Clean India Mission”) with the slogan “Ek
Kadam Swachhta Ki Ore” (meaning “A step towards Cleanliness”)

This is indeed a good initiative from India Post, issuing this set of 4 stamps on Ladybird Beetles. They issued a set of stamps, including post cards on threatened birds, Orchids found in India etc. last year. among other issues. We are expecting more such stamps this year.

Dipak Mukherjee has commented:"Ladybirds are benevolent beauties (insect) for agriculture. Dr. Mukherjee, Samindranath, is a renown entomologist.. He can add to your blog the agri. friendly kingdom of insects.

About Me

I am Rajeev Prasad, a retired State Bank of India officer who had been collecting coins in a shoe box without having a serious interest. Only after quitting my job I got the time to take serious interest in developing my coin collection into a hobby. A pity, because I would have had more opportunity to lay my hands on more 'exclusive coins' while in the Bank. Anyway, as they say,better late than never. If you have any views to share with me regarding this blog , please contact me on my email rajeevprasad1208@gmail.com. I also have a twitter account @prasad_rajeev.
I had an opportunity to participate in a Documentary on the life and times of the 25 paise coin titled “Chal Basi Chavanni” (The four anna/twenty five paise coin passes away), aired by STAR NEWS on 29th and 30th June 2011. The programme helped in making many persons hold back onto their “chavannis”, the little round beauties, instead of returning them to Banks .